Iola’s forehead furrowed. “Dog treats? I don’t know?—”
“Jamie Mathis,” Sammi said as she came through the daycare door. “He works for Darling Dish Catering, but he makes the best dog treats. He sometimes gives out a few at the dog park.”
“Ohhh, Jamie Mathis!” Iola nodded. “He’s been waiting for a match for weeks, poor thing. The pool of queer men is just too small.” She eyed me. “Are you sure you can’t date a man, dear? He’d be a great match for you.”
“Very sure.”
“You didn’t like him at all?” she asked, sounding so sad that I couldn’t lie.
“Well, yeah, of course Ilikedhim. He’s great, but I’m not— I mean, I don’t, uh…”
“You can just say you’re straight,” Sammi said dryly. “It’s not offensive.” She snorted a laugh. “Oh man, I’d love to have been a fly on the wall at that meeting.”
“We met at the dog park,” I said testily. “You’d have needed to be a fly on a dog turd.”
“Charming,” she said.
“Butaccurate.”
Iola clucked. “Well, I just don’t know how this happened. I set you up with Jamie Westerly.”
“I texted Jamie at the number you gave me. Clearly, there was a mixup.”
She shook her head. “I knew I shouldn’t have trusted Marilyn with admin responsibilities! The lady has lost one too many marbles. Gosh. I’m sorry, Hank, but I’ll send you the correct Jamie’s info right away.”
“That’s okay,” I said. “I think I’ll quit while I’m behind.”
“Oh, but she’s lovely!” Iola protested. “We won’t make the same mistake again. You’ll have a nice time, I swear.”
Despite everything, I’d had a nice time with Jamie Mathis. He seemed like a genuinely nice guy, and wedidclick over our shared love of dogs. If nothing else, I’d gained a friend.
But I really had no desire to tempt the fates with another blind date. “I’ll think about it,” I hedged. “No promises.”
She patted my arm. “You do that.”
She picked up Ricky, exchanging sloppy kisses that made me cringe no matter how many times I saw it. Then she shot a glance at my boss.
“Work on him for me, Sammi. Hank deserves happiness, and at Matchmaking Mamas we offer a guaranteed HEA or your money back.”
“I didn’t pay any money…”
“Not yet.” She smiled sharply. “We only ask our happily matched couples to donate to the cause. Thanks to Laurie’s generosity, we don’t need much.”
“Laurie?”
“He’s a very important man,” she said with a sniff. “Very wealthy. He married Tucker Ellis, so he invests in our little town.”
“Oh.”
She eyed me. “All our matches eventually contributewhatever they can afford.” She smiled. “Give us a chance, and you’ll happily be giving too. After all, love is worth everything, don’t you agree?”
Love that actually lasted? Absolutely. The messy emotions I ended up tangled in more often than not? Well, maybe it was for the best that my date hadn’t worked out after all.
“Love is priceless,” Sammi said when I paused too long.
“That’s right,” Iola said, nodding sharply. “Listen to Sammi. Don’t waste your chance at love.”
“Uh, okay.”
